Lexis/Nexis Overview

Lexis/Nexis (L/N) is an online service that provides access to the full-text (or in some cases, only an abstract) of thousands of publications and information sources. The main strengths of L/N are in the areas of law, business, and news information.

Note: L/N does not include scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences. It does, however, include over 200 law journals, a great many specialized and industry specific business journals and newsletters, and a handful of medical journals.

A list of files available in L/N is included in the booklet entitled Lexis/Nexis Directory of Online Services kept near the workstations. It is arranged by Library, with an alphabetical listing of all titles in the gray section. A more extensive online version is also available: select the GUIDE file for detailed information about every file in L/N, including which Library it is in, update frequency, dates of coverage, and brief description.

L/N Terminology

Library: a collection of files or databases. (You cannot search an entire library; you must select one of its files.) example: GERMAN (Germany Library) contains news articles, company information, business analysis, and country information focusing on Germany.

File: there are two types of files in L/N:

1. Individual File: a database of issues of a single publication example: NYT contains all New York Times articles since June 1980
2. Group File: a group of databases that are closely related to one another in content or that are issued by the same publisher/producer example: MAJPAP includes about 50 major U.S. and international newspapers

Files may be listed under more than one library.

Search strategy for searching in Lexis/Nexis

1. Define your topic - what specific information do you need?

2. Determine which materials to search: primary, secondary, and/or law-related; then select the appropriate file

3. Develop a search statement using: words, connectors and * or ! for word variations or, enter .fr and type a FREESTYLE search description using plain English

4. View documents: display documents: KWIC, FULL, CITE, or SEGMTS modify search if necessary

4. Print or download documents note that option for printing available in our library is screen printing; note that option for downloading is also done one screen at a time.

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